Part 1 of 5 · freeIntroduction
In April 2022, Jithmini's school van had no fuel. At 17, the young Sri Lankan could no longer get to school. Her country's central bank was saving its scarce dollars for essential imports, starting with fuel. Tax cuts and the collapse of tourism had set off a currency crisis.
Outside the United States, many businesses invoice in dollars, banks lend in dollars, and governments keep foreign exchange reserves in dollars to pay abroad and cope with emergencies. A Sri Lankan importer who owes dollars to a supplier has to find them before the cargo can leave. Why do so many sellers accept only dollars? It is a long story.
The rest is in the Sophia app.The remaining parts, the open-book quiz and the full glossary. Free to start; Premium unlocks everything.
- 21944: America has the gold, the goods and the money
- 3Bretton Woods: the dollar, gold and Keynes
- 41971: the end of the golden age
- 5A dominance that feeds itself
Open-book quiz8 questions whose answers are in the text.
Glossary7 terms explained in a tap.
30 languagesThe same course, from French to Japanese.
